The Cinematography Podcast

Hosted by The Cinematography Podcast

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Episodes

446

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Art, Business, Craft and Philosophy of the Moving Image

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60 recent

October 12, 2026

Inside the IMAX Camera Department with Scott "Smitty" Smith

Scott "Smitty" Smith, the IMAX camera technician behind Oppenheimer, Sinners and The Odyssey, on large format film, servicing cameras and why film costs less than you'd think. This episode is packed with technical detail for anyone who wants to understand the mechanics of shooting IMAX, from servicing the cameras to what the premium ticket actually buys. Podcast highlights include: -How Smitty’s zigzag career built a one-of-a-kind specialist. From Learjet periscope systems and aerials to IMAX documentaries and features, Smitty developed IMAX camera technician into its own job. He services every camera that runs more than a mag or two a day, with partial teardowns at lunch and at night. -How three-minute mags shape the rhythm of a set. Reloads happen in under two minutes, giving the director a beat with the actors while everyone stays on their A-game. -How film and digital each has their place. Film rules the highlight roll-off, while digital rules the shadows and low light. Budget-wise, large format film costs less compared to digital than most filmmakers think. -How not every IMAX theater is the same IMAX. A high-reflectance screen, twin 4K laser projectors, a 12-speaker array and a protected 1.9 aspect ratio are what the premium ticket buys. 15-perf film projection tops it all, at three times the resolution of 70mm.

October 2, 2026

DP Doug Emmett on shooting the crime drama Furious

Furious DP Doug Emmett breaks down how the production team aligned on tone, lighting a penthouse with floor-to-ceiling windows, and creating a red-lit party scene. Podcast highlights include: -How the Furious team rehearsed their look-book pitches over Zoom before presenting to the studio. Every pitch got shorter and sharper, and the department heads began production aligned on the tone of the show. -How Emmett lit a 60th-floor penthouse of floor-to-ceiling windows that became a tricky house of mirrors once darkness fell. Taped-up light mats, low bounces and black rags kept the reflections out of frame, with no need to paint them out. -How a large Queens restaurant became a claustrophobic party scene. Emmett flooded the space with red light from old bulbs, mixed in cyan, and kept the camera tight on Alice because there weren't enough extras to shoot wide. -How he shot the show's two protagonists, Alice and Catherine. Emmett held a consistent focal length, kept close-ups in the 60 to 100mm range, and never went longer, so the audience stays inside the characters' space. See Furious streaming on Hulu. Find Doug Emmett: https://www.dougemmett.com/ Show rundown: 02:17 Close Focus 09:22-59:09 Interview with Doug Emmett 58:50 Short Ends 01:08:45 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

September 25, 2026

Never After Dark: filming a ghost story in Japan using camera magic

Director Dave Boyle and DP Patrick Ouziel on making the ghost story Never After Dark in Japan: a 28-day shoot, a backlit zoetrope mirror, and in-camera magic. Podcast highlights: -How Boyle, fresh off the Netflix hit House of Ninjas, made the film in Japan. Cast and crew were locked in before the script was finished, a development cycle very different from what happens in Hollywood's. -What it's like to shoot in a language you don't speak. Ouziel worked through a translator and alongside lighting director Hidenori Nagata, whose traditional fixtures and custom mirrors changed how he thinks about light. -How they built the spinning, ghost summoning zoetrope mirror and captured its reflections in camera. With careful tests and planning, Ouziel filmed all the mirror shots exclusively with in-camera effects. Never After Dark opens September 25 in New York and Los Angeles and expands nationwide October 9. Find Never After Dark in theaters: https://www.magpictures.com/neverafterdark/ Find Dave Boyle: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2279419/ Instagram: @thedaveboyle Find Patrick Ouziel: https://www.patrickouziel.com/ Instagram: @patrickouziel Hear our previous interview with Dave Boyle on House of Ninjas: https://www.camnoir.com/ep254/ Show Rundown: 02:16 Close Focus 13:03-01:01:42 Interview with Dave Boyle and Patrick Ouziel 01:02:14 Short Ends 01:08:49 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

September 18, 2026

Wesley Wang on building a studio for the internet generation

Director Wesley Wang on building Wesley Wang Media, an indie studio incubator for online creators, launching a $100K open contest, and staying a filmmaker himself. Podcast highlights include: -How Wesley Wang Media flips the traditional development model. Rather than years of notes and pitch meetings behind closed doors, the company funds small, low-cost proofs of concept and lets online audiences decide what gets scaled toward streaming or theatrical. -The $100,000 open filmmaker contest the company just launched. No agent, lawyer, or prior credits required — just a 60-second pitch video, with finalists flown out for a filmed "camp" challenge to help pick the winner. -What it's like negotiating the split between building a company and staying a filmmaker himself. Wang talks candidly about the pull toward becoming an "executive producer" full-time, and his plan to keep writing and directing on the side. -Where Wang draws the line on AI. He explains why Wesley Wang Media isn't funding AI-made or AI-assisted projects right now, and compares the pull of human-made films to why nobody roots for a computer chess player over a grandmaster. If you're a creator, brand, investor or anyone with a great idea, Wesley Wang Media would like to hear from you! Email: team@wesleywangmedia.com Apply for the $100,000 filmmaker contest: https://wesleywangmedia.com/apply Find Wesley Wang: https://wesleywangmedia.com/ Instagram: @wesleywanggg @wesleywangmedia Show Rundown: 02:13 Close Focus 09:13- 52:47 Wesley Wang Interview 53:11 Short Ends 59:52 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

September 18, 2026

Special Episode: Remembering Rodney Charters, ASC, CSC, NZSC

Remembering cinematographer Rodney Charters, ASC, dp of 24, Sleepwalkers, and much more in this classic Cinepod conversation on craft, career, and lighting.

September 4, 20261 hr 11 min

DP Brett Pawlak’s vision for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

DP Brett Pawlak on grounding Spider-Man: Brand New Day in natural light, practical suit design, and 17 years collaborating with Destin Cretton. Podcast highlights include: -How Pawlak and Cretton’s input about the suit design kept Peter Parker feeling human. The mask allowed Tom Holland's jaw to move, and his real eyes were visible through the mesh so the audience never forgets there’s a human under the mask. -Pawlak's approach to lighting a tentpole movie. Using as much natural light as possible. -Solving the Jean Grey telekinesis sequence with a simple method. Capturing a choreographed "wave" through the cast with both whip pans and lock-offs. -How fundamentals of story and composition don't change when scaling up from TV’s Wonder Man to a Spider-Man tentpole. Find Brett Pawlak: https://www.brettpawlak.com/ Instagram: @brettsbo Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still playing in theaters and conquering the box office. SHOW RUNDOWN: 01:50 Close Focus 13:07-01:14:46 Brett Pawlak Interview 01:15:25 Short Ends 01:26:10 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

August 28, 20261 hr 11 min

Building a nearly silent crime drama in Motor City

Cinematographer John Matysiak on shooting Motor City's nearly dialogue-free story, real in-camera stunts, and building its 1970s Detroit look from film tests. Podcast highlights include: -Why Motor City tells its story with almost no dialogue, and how that shaped everything from frame rate to needle-drop music. The crew tested wildly different frame rates to find moments where the image alone could carry the emotion of a scene. -The commitment to shooting practical over digital, including a real car fight and a one-day elevator brawl. The team built real stunts on real streets, saving resources for the effects work that truly needed it. -How the team engineered Motor City's period 1970s Detroit look. Side-by-side film tests on 35mm and Alexa helped the team reverse-engineer a great film look for digital. -Pulling off an ambitious 44-location shoot in just 27 days. Heavy pre-production and storyboarding gave the crew the flexibility to improvise and pivot when locations and permits fell through at the last minute. Find John Matysiak: https://www.johnmatysiak.com/ Instagram: @john_matysiak Motor City is still in select theaters and available on pay per view. Hear our past interview with John Matysiak and Potsy Ponciroli on their film, Old Henry: https://www.camnoir.com/ep143/ SHOW RUNDOWN: 02:09 Close Focus 12:46-01:01:45 John Matysiak Interview 01:02:26 Short Ends 01:11:33 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

August 22, 20261 hr 11 min

Bringing indie instincts to Voicemails for Isabelle

DP Julia Swain on faking the Golden Gate Bridge, rigging a real tour bus, and bringing indie instincts to Netflix's Voicemails for Isabelle Podcast highlights include: -How Julia shot the film's pivotal Golden Gate Bridge overlook scenes without using a stage. The team scouted the real Marin Headlands, built a 3D map of the exact sightline, then recreated the spot in a Vancouver park at night, using blue screen only where the bridge needed to be. -How Julia pulled off shooting the most difficult scenes of the film: a real tour bus driving through San Francisco instead of faking it on a soundstage. -Why stepping up in budget didn't change how she and McKendrick actually work. The instincts built on tiny indie sets, and knowing what to prioritize and when to pivot, became the exact skillset that Julia needed to let them move fast on a much bigger show. Find Julia Swain: https://www.juliaswain.net/ Instagram: @juliaswain Voicemails for Isabelle is currently streaming on Netflix. Hear our previous interview with Julia Swain on The Dreadful. https://www.camnoir.com/ep347/ SHOW RUNDOWN: 03:21 Close Focus 10:35-51:52 Julia Swain Interview 52:13 Short Ends 02:00:07 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

August 14, 20261 hr 11 min

Michael Bauman on building horror for Monster: The Ed Gein Story

DP Michael Bauman, ASC on shooting Monster: The Ed Gein Story, building a visual language with period lenses, and lighting with just reflectors and flashlights. Podcast highlights include: -How Michael built a distinct visual language for each era with lensing shifting from period to period. Color and texture gave the digital image a weathered, film-period feel. -Lighting the Emmy-nominated Episode 6 sequence almost entirely with reflected and practical light. Rather than lighting the set conventionally, the crew bounced light and had actors sweep real flashlights themselves, revealing the horror gradually. -Why the "less is more" philosophy shaped how the show handles its most gruesome material. Instead of extreme gore, props and details were shot so that it was hard for the audience to see clearly, with sound design and suggestion doing the work. -How a single unbroken shot in the hardware-store reveal scene grew out of a scheduling crunch. Short winter daylight forced a one-take solution that ended up becoming one of the episode's most cinematic moments. Find Michael Bauman: Instagram @baumanlights Monster: The Ed Gein Story is currently streaming on Netflix. Hear our previous interview with Michael Bauman on One Battle After Another. https://www.camnoir.com/ep343/ SHOW RUNDOWN: 02:14 Close Focus 11:37-53:40 Michael Bauman Interview 53:57 Short Ends 01:03:50 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

August 7, 20261 hr 11 min

Shooting mud, fog and firelight in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

DOP Gustav Danielsson, FSF on shooting HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with naturalistic firelight, practical battlefield fog, and in-camera POV shots Podcast highlights include: -How Gustav and director Owen Harris planned the show's night time, fire-light-driven look. -Beginning their shoot day at dusk to catch the natural blue hour light in the wide shots before moving into closer setups. -Pulling off the massive dueling tournament in Episode 5, using practical fog and mud to set the mood. -The sinister gray mist was chosen as a practical solution to use fewer extras, and added to the atmosphere of dread as it obscured the combatants. As for the mud, it looked great, but the production team had to adjust as it quickly became hard as concrete when it dried. -Using a Ronin 4D rigged to an operator's chest for the helmet POV shots. Rather than adding digital effects, the second unit shot the visceral mace-impact perspective entirely in-camera. -Shooting the flashback sequences on a Panavision’s T-Series Anamorphic lenses to distinguish it from the present-day story without adjusting the color grade. Find Gustav Danielsson: https://gustavdanielsson.com/ Instagram: @gustavdanielssson A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is currently streaming on HBO. SHOW RUNDOWN: 02:39 Close Focus 10:44-01:04:42 Gustav Danielsson Interview 01:05:10 Short Ends 01:14:26 Credits The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social